As was the case with the demolition of the Titans, Pats' fans should not get too excited over the Patriots' easy win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The 5-2 Pats (damn...that Denver loss still hurts) now enter their bye week...after which they run a five week gauntlet, in which they play tough Miami, at Indy, the Jets, at New Orleans, and at Miami.

Anything less than a 3-2 record during the aforementioned five week run would be a disaster. That said, if the Pats are the serious SB contender that we all hope they are, the team should go no less than 4-1 in these games. I wasn't encouraged by what I saw today. Here are my grades:

A.) OFFENSE: At times, the Pats appeared to be to be going through the motions out there, as if they were participating in a scrimmage, rather than a game. They were sloppy. Too many penalties. Even though Sam Aiken made perhaps the play of the game with a catch and mostly run for a 54 yard TD play, its' still obvious that the Pats "O" is slowed by the lack of a dependable third WR...as more and more teams are double-teaming Moss and Welker...and making the Pats beat them underneath.

1.) QB: Though Tom Brady passed for 308 yards on 23/32 completions, and 3 TDS, those stats are misleading. The great majority of his passing yards would earned via runs after the catch. Though Tom did have his moments, he continues to have issues on his deep throws. This was evidenced by his grossly underthrown interception, on the long pass attempt to newcomer Brandon Tate. His first quarter interception in the redzone was inexcusable. Sometimes a 107.3 pass rating isn't what its' cracked up to be. Had this type of Brady performance occurred against a good team, rather than the 0-6 Bucs, the Pats might have been looking at their third loss of the season.GRADE: C;

2.) RBs: The Maroney bashers are likely to reappear after this rather tepid rushing performance. Maroney is what he is. He runs a bit too high, and doesn't hit a hole as quickly as the upper echelon RBs do. But, he's dependable. No fumbles...and remains a breakaway threat when in open space. He has improved at picking up blitzes. I only wish that the Pats would design more screen plays for him...and use him more as a receiver coming out of the backfield. Lawfirm has his moments. But, the OL still does not provide enough running room for the Pats to be a ball-control, physical team. To compensate, the Pats run a multitude of screens.GRADE: C;

3.) WRs and TEs: Talking TEs first, Ben Watson contributed by badly beating his man, and snaring a "pitch and catch" 35 yard TD pass from Brady. Chris Baker chipped in with 2 short grabs. Moving on to the WRs, as good as Randy Moss it, it is Wes Welker is the straw that stirs the drink for this offense. With a typical 10 receptions for 107 yards, Wes kept the chains moving. Randy Moss chipped in with 5 catches for 69 yards, and Sam Aiken had the aforementioned 54 yard play.GRADE: A-;

4.) OL: Good start by the big uglies was someone negated by a flurry of false start and holding calls, particularly by Logan Mankins and Sebastien Vollmer. Sea- Bass seemed to have a lot of trouble handling the quickness of Bucs' DE Greg Peterson (#96 in your program). Kind of makes you wonder how he'll do against when he faces guys like Joey Porter, Jason Taylor, and Dwight Freeney. The OL is not getting enough push up front on running plays.GRADE: C+

B.) DEFENSE: Looked good against QB Josh Johnson and the punchless Bucs. Nonetheless, it appeared that the Tampa WRs were by and large getting open. Another failure during two minute drill time, as the Pats gave up a first down on a 3rd and 14...and then a long pass for a TD on the next play.

1.) DL: The Pats played a "4-3" for most of the day. The front four did a good job in controlling the run, and collasping the poket on pass plays. Vince Wilfolk was a force inside. Too bad to see DE Ty Warren carted off with an ankle injury in the second half:GRADE: B+;

2.) LBs: Jerod Mayo looks immense as a "4-3" MLB. Great game off the outside by Tully Banta-Cain, who was in on several plays behind the line of scrimmage. Adalius Thomas looked more involved and energetic after being benched last week:GRADE: B+;

3.) SECONDARY: The Brandon Boys continue to thrive and intimidate at safety. CB, however, was a different story. Darius Butler appeared to have problems keeping up with the Bucs' WRs, and was beaten deep for Tampa's only score. Had the Pats been matched up today against a Peyton Manning or Drew Brees, it might have been ugly. The team still misses Asante Samuel.GRADE: B-;

C.) SPECIAL TEAMS: The time has come for the Patriots to audition some punters. Chris Hanson was awful today...harkening thoughts of Ken Walter in his finally season as the Pats' punter. Hanson failed miserably on a pouch punt...as he hit a low liner directly to the Bucs' returner, in the middle of the field. He also had one kick blocked, and one other nearly blocked, as a result of what appeared to be a double-clutch. Watch for other teams to attempt to pressure Hanson. A dumb penalty negated a first down on a fake punt. Good coverage on kicks by the Pats, especially by Pierre Woods...and the usual good job as a punt returner by Welker;GRADE: C- (as in Chris minus)

D.) COACHING: Just a few minor complaints...as BB kept the offense pretty vanilla against the lowly Bucs. On the Pats' first drive, Brady threw a 2 yard pass over the middle to Wes Welker on a 3rd and 4. Why not make it a four yard pass in order to make sure that a first down is picked up? With the score 35-7, why risk Wes Welker to field another punt? Too many penalties on offense. On defense, the Pats ran a pretty good scheme. I was glad to see them come out aggressive and blitz the young Tampa QB. But why do the Pats constantly go into a shell on 3rd and long...and during two minute drill time? Everybody knows what is said about playing a prevent defense. The Pats need to improve at punter, and still need to find a better third receiver than Sam Aiken:GRADE: B+

E.) PLAY OF THE GAME: The Sam Aiken 54 yard catch/run;

F.) GAME BALL: Brandon Meriweather was all over the field...and had the pick six early to set the tone of the game.

I think last week's game might have set up thoughts of this team winning 69-0 this week. They did sort of sleep walk to a 35-7 pasting of the Bucs. That team stinks, but I will say this - they didn't lie down like the Titans did last week. That being said I thought Brady was closer to a B. They won a lot of games with YAC TDs back in the day, and that is what happened tonight. It is the QB's reads that pick up the right matchup and let the WRs/TEs run rough shod on the LBs/DBs as evidenced by the LB coverage on Aiken's 54 yd TD pass and run. That is by design and execution. Agreed on the Red Zone pick, but as for the deep Int that was a misread and a CB - Talib - made a heckuva play leaving his guy to pick that off. Aside from that I thought you were spot on Tex. As for moving forward I agree that the next 5 are as a tough a strectch as any team could face, but I feel good after a bye w/Miami coming up here. I would take a split with Indy/NO, they will beat the Jets here, and the interesting game will be the Miami game on the road. They go 3-2 it still sets them up at 12-4 with last 3 looking like lay-ups, and that should earn at worst a 3rd seed. That is a lot of crystal balling, but I will take my chances with this team being very well-tested going into the playoffs having played the likes of Atlanta, Baltimore, Denver, Indy, NO, Jetsx2, and Miamix2.

I heard Tate got into the game. Anything there? TxPat, only you might appreciate the Pats being on local TV down here for the first seven games of the season. Wow! I sure am happy the Pats go into the bye week before meeting the Dolphins. That Wildcat gives folks fits. I don't understand why the thing works so well.Posted by garytx

It works because the 'Fins have a good OL, and two fast, physical RBs in Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams. Brown is the most underrated RB in the NFL.

Sam Aiken gets your play of the game right after you say the Patriots need a better 3rd receiver than Aiken LOL I happen to like him as the 3rd WR, he is big, strong and improving week to week, that big play he made only boosts his confidence for the next game.Posted by PatsRfineIn09

I hope you're right. But, he's not the answer. Perhaps Brandon Tate will step up. I don't understand why BB is not giving Terrence Nunn a shot. He had a great preseason. Who knows...maybe he's not cutting it on the practice squad.

I heard Tate got into the game. Anything there? TxPat, only you might appreciate the Pats being on local TV down here for the first seven games of the season. Wow! I sure am happy the Pats go into the bye week before meeting the Dolphins. That Wildcat gives folks fits. I don't understand why the thing works so well.Posted by garytx

The reason this works is simple. The average NFL personell package has been geared toward faster/lighter, and nickel heavy over the last two decades. So in order to counter that, you go retro.

The QB, except for the fact that he distributes the ball, is essentially dead weight on a running play. Take him out, and you can have a two RB set, with an extra blocker.

It doesn't give the defense an advantage, per se, but it negates the inherent defensive advantage on running plays.

I disagree with your premise. We played the Bucs in a conservative manner with the knowlege that we were better, and if we didnt GIVE them the game, we would be ok. Their Defense certainly was doing alot of things well, and we concentrated on stopping their Offense, with emphasis on not letting the QB scramble. 7 points. I think we did well. Did we come out firing? No. But Brady was on the bench pretty early also, because the plan worked. I'm certainly glad the Phins played the Saints, now one tape gives us insight into both teams (a bit). I'm pretty sure we wont be having as much trouble with the Wildcat as others, we play more disciplined Defense, and we were ok last time we faced it. I am one of the Moroney bashers. He is getting better, but still stopping at the line and not bouncing. See today's Dolphin game for the opposite of that style.

As was the case with the demolition of the Titans, Pats' fans should not get too excited over the Patriots' easy win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The 5-2 Pats (damn...that Denver loss still hurts) now enter their bye week...after which they run a five week gauntlet, in which they play tough Miami, at Indy, the Jets, at New Orleans, and at Miami. Anything less than a 3-2 record during the aforementioned five week run would be a disaster. That said, if the Pats are the serious SB contender that we all hope they are, the team should go no less than 4-1 in these games. I wasn't encouraged by what I saw today. Here are my grades: A.) OFFENSE: At times, the Pats appeared to be to be going through the motions out there, as if they were participating in a scrimmage, rather than a game. They were sloppy. Too many penalties. Even though Sam Aiken made perhaps the play of the game with a catch and mostly run for a 54 yard TD play, its' still obvious that the Pats "O" is slowed by the lack of a dependable third WR...as more and more teams are double-teaming Moss and Welker...and making the Pats beat them underneath. 1.) QB: Though Tom Brady passed for 308 yards on 23/32 completions, and 3 TDS, those stats are misleading. The great majority of his passing yards would earned via runs after the catch. Though Tom did have his moments, he continues to have issues on his deep throws. This was evidenced by his grossly underthrown interception, on the long pass attempt to newcomer Brandon Tate. His first quarter interception in the redzone was inexcusable. Sometimes a 107.3 pass rating isn't what its' cracked up to be. Had this type of Brady performance occurred against a good team, rather than the 0-6 Bucs, the Pats might have been looking at their third loss of the season. GRADE: C; 2.) RBs: The Maroney bashers are likely to reappear after this rather tepid rushing performance. Maroney is what he is. He runs a bit too high, and doesn't hit a hole as quickly as the upper echelon RBs do. But, he's dependable. No fumbles...and remains a breakaway threat when in open space. He has improved at picking up blitzes. I only wish that the Pats would design more screen plays for him...and use him more as a receiver coming out of the backfield. Lawfirm has his moments. But, the OL still does not provide enough running room for the Pats to be a ball-control, physical team. To compensate, the Pats run a multitude of screens. GRADE: C; 3.) WRs and TEs: Talking TEs first, Ben Watson contributed by badly beating his man, and snaring a "pitch and catch" 35 yard TD pass from Brady. Chris Baker chipped in with 2 short grabs. Moving on to the WRs, as good as Randy Moss it, it is Wes Welker is the straw that stirs the drink for this offense. With a typical 10 receptions for 107 yards, Wes kept the chains moving. Randy Moss chipped in with 5 catches for 69 yards, and Sam Aiken had the aforementioned 54 yard play. GRADE: A-; 4.) OL: Good start by the big uglies was someone negated by a flurry of false start and holding calls, particularly by Logan Mankins and Sebastien Vollmer. Sea- Bass seemed to have a lot of trouble handling the quickness of Bucs' DE Greg Peterson (#96 in your program). Kind of makes you wonder how he'll do against when he faces guys like Joey Porter, Jason Taylor, and Dwight Freeney. The OL is not getting enough push up front on running plays. GRADE: C+ B.) DEFENSE: Looked good against QB Josh Johnson and the punchless Bucs. Nonetheless, it appeared that the Tampa WRs were by and large getting open. Another failure during two minute drill time, as the Pats gave up a first down on a 3rd and 14...and then a long pass for a TD on the next play. 1.) DL: The Pats played a "4-3" for most of the day. The front four did a good job in controlling the run, and collasping the poket on pass plays. Vince Wilfolk was a force inside. Too bad to see DE Ty Warren carted off with an ankle injury in the second half: GRADE: B+; 2.) LBs: Jerod Mayo looks immense as a "4-3" MLB. Great game off the outside by Tully Banta-Cain, who was in on several plays behind the line of scrimmage. Adalius Thomas looked more involved and energetic after being benched last week: GRADE: B+; 3.) SECONDARY: The Brandon Boys continue to thrive and intimidate at safety. CB, however, was a different story. Darius Butler appeared to have problems keeping up with the Bucs' WRs, and was beaten deep for Tampa's only score. Had the Pats been matched up today against a Peyton Manning or Drew Brees, it might have been ugly. The team still misses Asante Samuel. GRADE: B-; C.) SPECIAL TEAMS: The time has come for the Patriots to audition some punters. Chris Hanson was awful today...harkening thoughts of Ken Walter in his finally season as the Pats' punter. Hanson failed miserably on a pouch punt...as he hit a low liner directly to the Bucs' returner, in the middle of the field. He also had one kick blocked, and one other nearly blocked, as a result of what appeared to be a double-clutch. Watch for other teams to attempt to pressure Hanson. A dumb penalty negated a first down on a fake punt. Good coverage on kicks by the Pats, especially by Pierre Woods...and the usual good job as a punt returner by Welker; GRADE: C- (as in Chris minus) D.) COACHING: Just a few minor complaints...as BB kept the offense pretty vanilla against the lowly Bucs. On the Pats' first drive, Brady threw a 2 yard pass over the middle to Wes Welker on a 3rd and 4. Why not make it a four yard pass in order to make sure that a first down is picked up? With the score 35-7, why risk Wes Welker to field another punt? Too many penalties on offense. On defense, the Pats ran a pretty good scheme. I was glad to see them come out aggressive and blitz the young Tampa QB. But why do the Pats constantly go into a shell on 3rd and long...and during two minute drill time? Everybody knows what is said about playing a prevent defense. The Pats need to improve at punter, and still need to find a better third receiver than Sam Aiken: GRADE: B+ E.) PLAY OF THE GAME: The Sam Aiken 54 yard catch/run ; F.) GAME BALL: Brandon Meriweather was all over the field...and had the pick six early to set the tone of the game. Here are the game stats: http://espn.go.com/nfl/boxscore?gameId=291025027 . THOUGHTS? Posted by TexasPat3

Some bones to pick. Butler did not get beat, he just didn't look back. You always look back for the ball when you go up on deep single coverage. This is easily correctable.

Grade for OL/FB is a big fat D. They had one of their worse games. Mankins had one of his worst games, and Vollmer had two holds because he was playing on a dinged up ankle. I don't know what BB is thinking putting Connolly in as FB. Neal gets illegal man downfield and Koppen false start. OL accounts for 8 out of 10 penalties.

This is why the running game was effectively stuffed.

Bucs elected to leave Welker in a lot of single coverage and paid for it.

Our D did good. AD not a factor today only because we played a lot of dime and nickel heavy on safeties (you saw a lot of play from Chung who got his first sack). McGowan motioned down into box a lot to stuff the run. Looks like this is what we do in the 4-3 that makes it almost as effective as the 3-4 to stop the run.

Kudos to Merriweather for 2 INT.'s First one, he was sitting on and waiting for- this is a testimony to his film study habits- Bucs called the same play last week and Merriweather was waiting on it.

In Response to Re: Patriots in London v. Bucs REPORT CARD : I hope you're right. But, he's not the answer. Perhaps Brandon Tate will step up. I don't understand why BB is not giving Terrence Nunn a shot. He had a great preseason. Who knows...maybe he's not cutting it on the practice squad. Posted by TexasPat3

You're being pretty tough on this kid, Texas. You saw his speed on that long run today and I saw him get a couple of nice blocks last week. He's just a rookie, improving every week. I think he's got a boatload of potential. Come playoff time, he'll have a half a season's experience under his belt and be a big asset.

Also game ball to Raheem Morris for brainfart of a gameplan and inability to adjust, even halftime adjust.

Upon review I see Pats O ran the smash with a lot more cross plays on man coverage than I initially thought, this because Bucs CB's are inexperienced and don't know to switch to soft zone when the cross comes up, they stick to man coverage and try to fight through the picks and that almost never works. This opens up the smash and that is why you see Watson sail in for the TD, because he is the inside receiver who goes 12 yard corner route when outside receiver does the 6 yard hitch. Brady goes progression read and key on CB. If he sinks to corner, throw the hitch, but if he motions down, throw corner, and it helped that Watson was in single coverage.

Real head scratcher why they played a lot of man coverage. This is why you saw Welker have a big day. He carried them on that last drive.

As was the case with the demolition of the Titans, Pats' fans should not get too excited over the Patriots' easy win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The 5-2 Pats (damn...that Denver loss still hurts) now enter their bye week...after which they run a five week gauntlet, in which they play tough Miami, at Indy, the Jets, at New Orleans, and at Miami. Anything less than a 3-2 record during the aforementioned five week run would be a disaster. That said, if the Pats are the serious SB contender that we all hope they are, the team should go no less than 4-1 in these games. I wasn't encouraged by what I saw today. Here are my grades: A.) OFFENSE: At times, the Pats appeared to be to be going through the motions out there, as if they were participating in a scrimmage, rather than a game. They were sloppy. Too many penalties. Even though Sam Aiken made perhaps the play of the game with a catch and mostly run for a 54 yard TD play, its' still obvious that the Pats "O" is slowed by the lack of a dependable third WR...as more and more teams are double-teaming Moss and Welker...and making the Pats beat them underneath. 1.) QB: Though Tom Brady passed for 308 yards on 23/32 completions, and 3 TDS, those stats are misleading. The great majority of his passing yards would earned via runs after the catch. Though Tom did have his moments, he continues to have issues on his deep throws. This was evidenced by his grossly underthrown interception, on the long pass attempt to newcomer Brandon Tate. His first quarter interception in the redzone was inexcusable. Sometimes a 107.3 pass rating isn't what its' cracked up to be. Had this type of Brady performance occurred against a good team, rather than the 0-6 Bucs, the Pats might have been looking at their third loss of the season. GRADE: C; 2.) RBs: The Maroney bashers are likely to reappear after this rather tepid rushing performance. Maroney is what he is. He runs a bit too high, and doesn't hit a hole as quickly as the upper echelon RBs do. But, he's dependable. No fumbles...and remains a breakaway threat when in open space. He has improved at picking up blitzes. I only wish that the Pats would design more screen plays for him...and use him more as a receiver coming out of the backfield. Lawfirm has his moments. But, the OL still does not provide enough running room for the Pats to be a ball-control, physical team. To compensate, the Pats run a multitude of screens. GRADE: C; 3.) WRs and TEs: Talking TEs first, Ben Watson contributed by badly beating his man, and snaring a "pitch and catch" 35 yard TD pass from Brady. Chris Baker chipped in with 2 short grabs. Moving on to the WRs, as good as Randy Moss it, it is Wes Welker is the straw that stirs the drink for this offense. With a typical 10 receptions for 107 yards, Wes kept the chains moving. Randy Moss chipped in with 5 catches for 69 yards, and Sam Aiken had the aforementioned 54 yard play. GRADE: A-; 4.) OL: Good start by the big uglies was someone negated by a flurry of false start and holding calls, particularly by Logan Mankins and Sebastien Vollmer. Sea- Bass seemed to have a lot of trouble handling the quickness of Bucs' DE Greg Peterson (#96 in your program). Kind of makes you wonder how he'll do against when he faces guys like Joey Porter, Jason Taylor, and Dwight Freeney. The OL is not getting enough push up front on running plays. GRADE: C+ B.) DEFENSE: Looked good against QB Josh Johnson and the punchless Bucs. Nonetheless, it appeared that the Tampa WRs were by and large getting open. Another failure during two minute drill time, as the Pats gave up a first down on a 3rd and 14...and then a long pass for a TD on the next play. 1.) DL: The Pats played a "4-3" for most of the day. The front four did a good job in controlling the run, and collasping the poket on pass plays. Vince Wilfolk was a force inside. Too bad to see DE Ty Warren carted off with an ankle injury in the second half: GRADE: B+; 2.) LBs: Jerod Mayo looks immense as a "4-3" MLB. Great game off the outside by Tully Banta-Cain, who was in on several plays behind the line of scrimmage. Adalius Thomas looked more involved and energetic after being benched last week: GRADE: B+; 3.) SECONDARY: The Brandon Boys continue to thrive and intimidate at safety. CB, however, was a different story. Darius Butler appeared to have problems keeping up with the Bucs' WRs, and was beaten deep for Tampa's only score. Had the Pats been matched up today against a Peyton Manning or Drew Brees, it might have been ugly. The team still misses Asante Samuel. GRADE: B-; C.) SPECIAL TEAMS: The time has come for the Patriots to audition some punters. Chris Hanson was awful today...harkening thoughts of Ken Walter in his finally season as the Pats' punter. Hanson failed miserably on a pouch punt...as he hit a low liner directly to the Bucs' returner, in the middle of the field. He also had one kick blocked, and one other nearly blocked, as a result of what appeared to be a double-clutch. Watch for other teams to attempt to pressure Hanson. A dumb penalty negated a first down on a fake punt. Good coverage on kicks by the Pats, especially by Pierre Woods...and the usual good job as a punt returner by Welker; GRADE: C- (as in Chris minus) D.) COACHING: Just a few minor complaints...as BB kept the offense pretty vanilla against the lowly Bucs. On the Pats' first drive, Brady threw a 2 yard pass over the middle to Wes Welker on a 3rd and 4. Why not make it a four yard pass in order to make sure that a first down is picked up? With the score 35-7, why risk Wes Welker to field another punt? Too many penalties on offense. On defense, the Pats ran a pretty good scheme. I was glad to see them come out aggressive and blitz the young Tampa QB. But why do the Pats constantly go into a shell on 3rd and long...and during two minute drill time? Everybody knows what is said about playing a prevent defense. The Pats need to improve at punter, and still need to find a better third receiver than Sam Aiken: GRADE: B+ E.) PLAY OF THE GAME: The Sam Aiken 54 yard catch/run ; F.) GAME BALL: Brandon Meriweather was all over the field...and had the pick six early to set the tone of the game. Here are the game stats: http://espn.go.com/nfl/boxscore?gameId=291025027 . THOUGHTS? Posted by TexasPat3

I hate how you mention " Had the Pats been matched up today against a Peyton Manning or Drew Brees, it might have been ugly."

What team team doesnt look ugly against Drew Brees and Peyton Manning on a regular basis? lol thats pretty dumb analysis.

Thats like saying "the pats did a pretty good job tackling the tampa bay running backs today, however had that been Adrian Peterson.. it could have gotten ugly" lol thats obvious.

The defensive backs only allowed 7 points, and had 3 interceptions, they did their job. As for Manning and Brees, we'll cross that bridge when we get to it.

Overall good win for the Pats, they did what they had to do, they won, and won BIG.

As someone that's played the game, I can tell you it's easy to judge players from a sofa. But if you've ever played the game, you would appreciate just how talented these players really are. Your grading system is a joke and so are you!

I like Aiken and think he can get better. Other teams will have to account for his size and speed as he sees more action. Brady is not short of targets and with the way Aiken is looking I don't think they need another receiver. What the Pats need is to find a way to run the ball more. Would have liked to see more of the law firm. Maroney dances way too much but could possibly be molded into a Kevin Faulk third down guy that catches the ball more in open space. Faulk won't be here forever and Maroney could fill his role. Not what they hoped for when they drafted him but better than giving up on him. I give the team a b+ overall without getting too picky because they did what they needed to do and had to fly over the pond to do it. I'm sure they had to encounter alot of distractions so I'm pleased that they passed the test.

I have to stick up for Darius, he only got beat once on a play the landed in Bryant's hand perfectly. It was a perfectly thrown ball that even if Butler had turned around and defended it it would have been a TD. To me, Butler is the second best corner on the team.

All in all, the Patriots prove what is wrong with the team this year, the defense plays well enough to win and the offense finds a way to look mediocre.

In Response to Re: Patriots in London v. Bucs REPORT CARD : You're being pretty tough on this kid, Texas. You saw his speed on that long run today and I saw him get a couple of nice blocks last week. He's just a rookie, improving every week. I think he's got a boatload of potential. Come playoff time, he'll have a half a season's experience under his belt and be a big asset.Posted by unclealfie

Please point out what I said to lead you to believe that I was being "pretty tough" on Tate? If you're talking about Sam Aiken, he's not a rookie. Sam will turn 29 in December. He's been a special teams' ace throughout his career...having played four seasons with the Buffalo Bills, before joining the Pats.

In Response to Patriots in London v. Bucs REPORT CARD : I hate how you mention " Had the Pats been matched up today against a Peyton Manning or Drew Brees, it might have been ugly." What team team doesnt look ugly against Drew Brees and Peyton Manning on a regular basis? lol thats pretty dumb analysis. Thats like saying "the pats did a pretty good job tackling the tampa bay running backs today, however had that been Adrian Peterson.. it could have gotten ugly" lol thats obvious. The defensive backs only allowed 7 points, and had 3 interceptions, they did their job. As for Manning and Brees, we'll cross that bridge when we get to it. Overall good win for the Pats, they did what they had to do, they won, and won BIG. 5-2 into the bye week, things are just dandy.Posted by Patsfan24-7

You are a very rude individual. If you want to sip koolaid and ignore the fact that the Tampa WRs were getting open all day, fine.

I disagree with your premise. We played the Bucs in a conservative manner with the knowlege that we were better, and if we didnt GIVE them the game, we would be ok. Their Defense certainly was doing alot of things well, and we concentrated on stopping their Offense, with emphasis on not letting the QB scramble. 7 points. I think we did well. Did we come out firing? No. But Brady was on the bench pretty early also, because the plan worked. I'm certainly glad the Phins played the Saints, now one tape gives us insight into both teams (a bit). I'm pretty sure we wont be having as much trouble with the Wildcat as others, we play more disciplined Defense, and we were ok last time we faced it. I am one of the Moroney bashers. He is getting better, but still stopping at the line and not bouncing. See today's Dolphin game for the opposite of that style.Posted by Davedsone

Dave:

In consideration of the competition, I think that my grades were fair. I thought Tom Brady didn't play particularly well...that the Pats OL committed far too many penalties...and that the Tampa WRs were able to get consistently open against our CBs. Fortunately for the Pats, Tampa lacks a QB who could get them the ball.

I have to stick up for Darius, he only got beat once on a play the landed in Bryant's hand perfectly. It was a perfectly thrown ball that even if Butler had turned around and defended it it would have been a TD. To me, Butler is the second best corner on the team. All in all, the Patriots prove what is wrong with the team this year, the defense plays well enough to win and the offense finds a way to look mediocre. Defense = B+ Offense = C Posted by 49Patriots

In Response to Re: Patriots in London v. Bucs REPORT CARD : You are a very rude individual. If you want to sip koolaid and ignore the fact that the Tampa WRs were getting open all day, fine. Posted by TexasPat3

rude? lol wow, thats all you had to say? lol

what did you want the patriots defensive backs to do? Allow no completions? They did a great job, sure the Bucs scored one touchdown, thats fine though, pats defense did their job.

As for Tom Brady he threw 2 interceptions, but he also had 3 touchdowns, and most importantly he showed GREAT pocket presense throughout the game, evading rushers in the pocket and finding the open receiver just like old times, looks like the knee will be fine. Thats the most important thing, not the two interceptions.

I would have given Brady a B, a couple of bad picks but some good throws also.

As far as the defense goes, we'll see more over the next month. Right now they have given up the 3rd least amount of points in the NFL, with the other two ahead of them(Colts/broncos) playing one less game. Despite some obvious rough spots, thats not bad.